Meanwhile, Barnstable and Yarmouth — along with Orleans, Falmouth, Sandwich and Harwich — have moratoriums in place.

Those temporary reprieves for dealing with the medical marijuana issue will expire soon, with Barnstable's set to end in May and Yarmouth's in August.

"Without a bylaw or moratorium in place, it would open it up to having (medical marijuana dispensaries) in a lot of business areas," said Kathleen Williams, Yarmouth's town planner.

The state medical marijuana law, the result of a citizens referendum vote in November 2012, allows qualifying patients with serious illnesses to obtain recommendations from their doctors to use medical marijuana. The dispensaries — where marijuana will be cultivated, processed and sold — will be overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The Barnstable Town Council will hold a joint hearing Feb. 6 with the Planning Board on an ordinance that would establish marijuana dispensary districts in two locations in Hyannis: one on the east end of Iyannough Road heading toward the Yarmouth town line, and the other in portions of the industrial district off Independence Drive.

A written explanation accompanying the proposal noted it was important to plan for the dispensaries as "regional service providers rather than typical retail establishments."

Designated locations should "provide access to both regional roadways and public transportation with the least impact on residential neighborhoods and incompatible areas," the statement said.

Initially the study committee drafting the bylaw was eyeing the area near Cape Cod Hospital as a possible district, but members "heard early on, 'No, we don't want it near the hospital,'" said Barnstable Town Manager Thomas Lynch.

Dispensaries would require a special permit from the Barnstable Zoning Board of Appeals.

Although the ordinance prohibits dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers, churches and other locations where families congregate, it gives the zoning board the ability to whittle that requirement to 500 feet at its discretion.

Lynch said Barnstable voters endorsed the state's medical marijuana initiative, with about 67 percent in favor.

"I think we're on track to create a district," Lynch said. "There may be a couple councilors with strong opinions, but in general, the public seems to understand the medical benefit of it."

If town councilors approve the zoning amendments Feb. 6, they would become effective 30 days later.

Yarmouth's Planning Board will open a public hearing Feb. 5 on a medical marijuana bylaw that will be placed before voters at the April annual town meeting. If the marijuana bylaw fails at town meeting, officials have a second article that would extend the moratorium until December of this year.

The two areas targeted in Yarmouth include land near Exit 8 off Route 6, south of White's Path, and tracts off Exit 7 where the adult entertainment district is located.

"They will be B-3 zones, which is the only place that allows manufacturing," said Williams, the town planner.

While there hasn't been much reaction from residents yet, that could change once the public hearings start, Williams said.

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Yarmouth would be required to secure site plan approval from the Planning Board and a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The proposal prohibits the operations within 500 feet of schools, child care operations and similar facilities.

Early on, the owner of Hawk's Wing Farm in Yarmouthport was looking to grow marijuana for a dispensary being planned for Boston. The Boston group ultimately failed to submit a proposal for the upcoming round of licensing. Planning Board members, who had been asked to include a provision in the town's bylaw recognizing marijuana as an agricultural product, decided not to do so in the current draft.

Applicants for the first batch of medical marijuana dispensary licenses submitted their proposals to the Department of Public Health in November. The department plans to announce which of the 100 applications will be awarded licenses next week.

This year, up to 35 licenses will be given out, with at least one and not more than five in each county in the state.

On the list of Cape and Islands license contenders are the Kingsbury Group Inc., which has submitted applications for Bourne, Provincetown and Tisbury; MV GreenCross Inc. for Tisbury; Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts Inc. and East Coast Wellness Center for Mashpee; JCS Holdings Inc. and William Noyes Webster Foundation Inc. for Dennis; Greenleaf MV Compassionate Care Inc. and Patient Centric of Martha's Vineyard for West Tisbury; and Mass Medi-Spa for Nantucket.